Best Places In The World To Retire

Dental care in Yucatan is great. Even people from Mexico City come here because it is very cheap compared to the cost of dental care in their area. We have a lot of cruises that arrive at the port of Progreso (in the state of Yucatan). Most of the crew in the cruises comes to Merida (the largest city in the state of Yucatan) to have dental work done. They know that health care and dental care here are very good. Progreso is located around 45 minutes away from Merida on a four-lane...

Dental care in Yucatan is great. Even people from Mexico City come here because it is very cheap compared to the cost of dental care in their area. We have a lot of cruises that arrive at the port of Progreso (in the state of Yucatan). Most of the crew in the cruises comes to Merida (the largest city in the state of Yucatan) to have dental work done. They know that health care and dental care here are very good. Progreso is located around 45 minutes away from Merida on a four-lane highway. There was an agreement with major cruise lines that there should be a center for them in Progreso so that they don’t have to drive all the way down to Merida. So Progreso is a health and dental care center in that area.

 

(Beach at Progresso, Yucatan, Mexico, pictured.)

The cost for a housekeeper in Placencia, Belize is extremely reasonable. You can get a housekeeper who would come every day to clean, cook, and do other chores for $75 to $100 USD a week, and there are lots of people looking for that type of work.
 
Only one of our homeowners has a live in housekeeper, because the other homeowners don’t want someone to live with them. The housekeepers who work here generally live somewhere in Placencia. There are buses that go back and...

The cost for a housekeeper in Placencia, Belize is extremely reasonable. You can get a housekeeper who would come every day to clean, cook, and do other chores for $75 to $100 USD a week, and there are lots of people looking for that type of work.
 
Only one of our homeowners has a live in housekeeper, because the other homeowners don’t want someone to live with them. The housekeepers who work here generally live somewhere in Placencia. There are buses that go back and forth between the village and our project. If they don’t ride the bus, they take a bike, motorcycle or scooter.

 

(Kitchen en suite at The Placencia Hotel and Residences, Placencia, Belize, pictured.)

 

One of the worst reasons I can come up with for retiring abroad is one of the most obvious these days, I believe: The political turmoil in the U.S., (at least for U.S. potential expats.) My wife and I did not move first to Panama, then to Colombia to escape the political rancor and polarization up north. We moved to escape the chilly winter weather. But people have asked if we left so we didn't have to hear Trump this, Hillary that, Bernie in between. When we arrived in Panama we...

One of the worst reasons I can come up with for retiring abroad is one of the most obvious these days, I believe: The political turmoil in the U.S., (at least for U.S. potential expats.) My wife and I did not move first to Panama, then to Colombia to escape the political rancor and polarization up north. We moved to escape the chilly winter weather. But people have asked if we left so we didn't have to hear Trump this, Hillary that, Bernie in between. When we arrived in Panama we realized that many folks retained their affiliations and perspectives, and to some it had become their persona. Colombia is a bit different, but there are still pockets of what I'll call political activism in Medellin, organized around the events of last November 8th.

 

The point is, don't expect to get away from U.S. politics, especially now. You won't. The only advice I can offer, if your expat decision is based on escaping all that foo-farah, is to learn what my wife and I have, to become adept at changing the subject. Our trigger phrase is 'how about those Cubs!' Any time the conversation meanders toward the political and/or liberal Vs Conservative Vs Libertarian etc., one of us says 'how 'bout them Cubs!' Come up with your own expression, and don't be afraid to use it. There are fine, engaging, fun and interesting folks in the expat community wherever you go. Try to engage them on that basis. Don't expect them to have shed all their 'home baggage,' but instead learn to steer them toward better, more satisfying topics. And don't retire abroad to escape the turmoil, it ain't gonna happen.

The cost of living in Managua depends on your lifestyle. Generally, the cost of living in Managua is a lot cheaper than in Granada or Masaya because those cities are visited a lot by tourists, so the prices of ordinary things are higher than in Managua. 

Living in Managua will cost you around US $1,000 per month and that includes electricity, water, rent and a maid. The rent for a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom house with a little patio is about $300 - $400 per month, although,...

The cost of living in Managua depends on your lifestyle. Generally, the cost of living in Managua is a lot cheaper than in Granada or Masaya because those cities are visited a lot by tourists, so the prices of ordinary things are higher than in Managua. 

Living in Managua will cost you around US $1,000 per month and that includes electricity, water, rent and a maid. The rent for a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom house with a little patio is about $300 - $400 per month, although, his will not be in the best or safest places in Managua, meaning this is not a gated area and it doesn't have security guards. This is in the working class area of Managua where people go to work to earn a living. There are no expats in this area, either. 

For a $2,500 total budget for all expenses, you can rent a really nice 2-story house with 2-3 bedrooms, 2-3 bathrooms (1 in each bedroom) and 1 common bathroom, a couple of patios, a have a maid and a nice car. There is for a really nice community here, which is about 11 minutes away from Managua, called Las Colinas. It’s a nice place and even though it is not a gated community it is still really safe. People who live here are doctors, business owners in Managua, and some politicians.

In the nicest parts of Managua such as Santo Domingo (11 minutes away by car), fancy houses may cost up to $1,000 to $1,500 per month and you can live on a budget of $4,000 - $5,000 per month. You’ll have a really nice house with 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 living areas, a big garden and a pool with security cameras. You’ll have a really nice car, a couple of maids and send the kids to private schools. The people who live in Santo Domingo are ambassadors, politicians, and expats.

The history of Portugal is a very broad question, so I will address it just in summary form.
 
500 years ago, Portugal owned half of the world and 500 years later we are just a little small humble country of Europe, which can tell you quite a bit.  We were, 500 years ago, a very important country, responsible for controlling half of the goods produced of half of the world. Spain had the other half. And then came the Dutch, the English; the explorers, and they took over some...

The history of Portugal is a very broad question, so I will address it just in summary form.
 
500 years ago, Portugal owned half of the world and 500 years later we are just a little small humble country of Europe, which can tell you quite a bit.  We were, 500 years ago, a very important country, responsible for controlling half of the goods produced of half of the world. Spain had the other half. And then came the Dutch, the English; the explorers, and they took over some of the rich countries that we controlled.
 
The colonies we had like Brazil, Mozambique, and Angola, survived for the last 300 to 200 years. But as the world developed, it was no longer allowed for countries to have colonies so we released our last colony in 1999, which was Macau in China. We had various dynasties of kings and queens and mixtures of royalty with other European countries.
 
We’re a country of explorers, very brave and courageous because if you could just imagine, 500 years ago, with no conditions, with little wooden boats discovering and crossing oceans and discovering countries, that can tell us a bit of the Portuguese culture. So yes, it’s a very brave culture, and a very brave country. We discovered half of the world and today we’re just a little civilized country of Europe.  

 

(Duke of Vise, Henry the Navigator of Portugal considered the patron of exploration, pictured.)

El Valle de Antón offers a variety of  small stores, especially for weekend visitors.  It is a very small town, but full of flowers and beautiful mountains and with lots of things to do and enjoy.

 

As a tourism site, the stores are more oriented to sell souvenirs, crafts and hammocks.  You can find beautiful "molas" ( handmade by the Indians in the San Blas islands) at extraordinary prices.

 

There are...

El Valle de Antón offers a variety of  small stores, especially for weekend visitors.  It is a very small town, but full of flowers and beautiful mountains and with lots of things to do and enjoy.

 

As a tourism site, the stores are more oriented to sell souvenirs, crafts and hammocks.  You can find beautiful "molas" ( handmade by the Indians in the San Blas islands) at extraordinary prices.

 

There are some grocery stores that also sell varieties of boots, shoes or very basic casual clothes.

 

But, surprisingly, sometimes you find in El Valle something that you have been looking for a long time, which is what happened to me.  I found a pair of boots (I love gardening) if my size, that I couldn´t find in the city, in a little Chinese store.  And when we got married (in ancient times), and we spent the first week of our honeymoon in El Valle (by the way, this place is just the place for honeymooners), the first thing my husband bought me was a yellow pair of pants, that  I needed.

 

So, you never know what you will find.

 

But if you do not find what you are looking for in El Valle, not to worry.  There are towns only 30 minutes away, like Coronado, or little further in Arraijan (Westland Mall) with plenty of  modern malls and all kinds of facilities where you can find all kinds of clothes at ridiculously low prices.